Method of cleaning the surface of a material coated with an organic substrate and a generator and device for carrying out said method

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a method for the continuous cleaning of the surface of a material ( 2 ) which is coated with an organic substance. The inventive method comprises the following steps, consisting in: introducing the material ( 2 ) into a treatment area which is supplied with a gas stream containing oxygen; earthing the material ( 2 ); and generating a plasma by imposing an electric field between the surface of the material ( 2 ) and at least one dielectric-covered electrode ( 3 ), said electric field being pulsed and comprising a succession of positive and negative voltage pulses in relation to the material ( 2 ). Moreover, the maximum voltage of the positive pulses U+ is greater than the arc striking voltage Ua and the maximum absolute value voltage of the negative pulses U− is less than the striking voltage Ua. The invention also relates to a generator and a device which are used to carry out said method.

The present invention relates to a process for cleaning the surface of amaterial coated with an organic substance, to a particular generator andto a system for implementing this process. More particularly, thisprocess is intended for cleaning metal strip, without being limitedthereto.

This is because strip output by the various existing manufacturing linesis generally covered with an oil film that may have two origins.Firstly, this film may have been applied by being sprayed withprotective oil, so as to protect the surface of the strip againstcorrosion. However, it may also be a residual oil film in the case ofstrip coming from a cold rolling mill or skin-pass. In both cases, oilcoating weights are of the order of about a hundred mg per m².

To deposit a metal or organic coating on such strip requires the removalof the oil film through a cleaning or degreasing operation followed by abrightening operation, in order to obtain good adhesion of this coating.The techniques generally used for this purpose on industrial lines havethe constraint of not excessively heating up the strip, so as topreserve the mechanical properties of the steel strip.

Thus, the most common of these techniques consists of an alkalinedegreasing operation which may or may not be assisted by an electrolyticprocess. For environmental reasons, this process requires theinstallation of complex ancillary workshops for reprocessing theecotoxic co-products.

Other technical solutions prevent the formation of these co-products,such as for example laser ablation, which has the effect of desorbingthe organic compounds photochemically, but at the present time it doesnot yet allow strip to be treated at speeds exceeding a few meters perminute for lack of laser power.

Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,631 teaches that one advantageous surfacetreatment technique consists in using a high-pressure plasma produced bymeans of dielectric barrier discharges in gas mixtures containingpredominantly helium. This rare gas is in fact necessary in order toobtain a stable glow discharge, thus preventing it from passing into arcmode, which would lead to a nonuniform treatment. The helium contentmust in this case be greater than 70% by volume, which means that theoxygen content is limited. The examples cited in the patent show that aplasma treatment carried out continuously in these gas mixtures is thensufficient to increase the surface energy of a polymer. However, in thecase of a plasma treatment used to clean a metal surface, it is only thereactive oxygen species (O^(.), etc.) formed in the plasma which oxidizethe oil coating the strip which allow the carbon chains to be convertedinto volatile species. It is therefore observed that the treatment isnot sufficiently rapid, probably because of the low density of reactiveoxygenated species if electric discharges are used with gas mixtureshaving oxygen contents of less than or equal to 30% by volume.

To solve this problem, patent U.S. Pat. No. 5,968,377 discloses asurface treatment process using atmospheric-pressure plasma in which apulsed electric field is imposed between the electrodes. The impositionof a pulsed electric field makes it possible to cut off the dischargebefore it passes into arc mode and to re-initiate it at the nextinstant. The voltage pulses applied have the feature of beingsymmetrical. However, the present inventors have found that this processcannot be used for cleaning a material coated with an organic substance.This is because it is observed in this case that only part of theorganic substance is oxidized and then volatilized and that another partpolymerizes. The film thus formed on the surface can be only partlyremoved, after a long immersion time in the plasma.

The object of present invention is therefore to remedy the drawbacks ofthe processes of prior art by providing a process for continuouslycleaning the surface of a substrate without obtaining eco-toxicco-products, with a treatment rate of greater than 10 m/min.

For this purpose, a first subject of the invention consists of a processfor the continuous cleaning of the surface of a material coated with anorganic substance, characterized in that it comprises the stepsconsisting in introducing said material into a treatment zone suppliedwith an oxygen-containing gas stream, in grounding said material and ingenerating a plasma by imposing an electric field between the surface ofsaid material and at least one electrode covered with a dielectric, saidelectric field being pulsed and comprising a succession of positive andnegative voltage pulses with respect to said material, the maximumvoltage of the positive pulses U⁺ being greater than the arc strikingvoltage U_(a) and the maximum voltage of the negative pulses U⁻ being,in absolute value, less than the striking voltage U_(a).

The present inventors have in particular found that the positive pulsehas to be quite high, i.e. greater in absolute value than the arcstriking voltage U_(a) for creating a sufficiently dense plasma in thetreatment zone, in order to achieve high cleaning rates.

They have also found that it is essential for the maximum voltage of thenegative pulses U⁻ in absolute value to be less than the strikingvoltage U_(a) in order not to initiate an electric discharge between thetwo electrodes, since the use of too great a negative voltage results inpolymerization of the oil, not allowing good degreasing to be obtained.

The value of the arc striking voltage mainly depends on the pressure ofthe gas in the reactor and on the inter-electrode distance. Theseparameters are connected through Paschen's law.

The process according to the invention may furthermore have thefollowing features, individually or in combination:

-   -   the voltage rise time of said field is less than or equal to 600        ns, preferably less than or equal to 60 ns;    -   the frequency of the positive pulses is greater than or equal to        20 kHz;    -   the gas stream consists of air or oxygen;    -   the material is a metallic material, preferably a carbon steel;    -   the organic substance is an oil for providing temporary        corrosion protection, or an unstable mechanical emulsion        (oil/water mixture) coming, for example, from the (skin-pass)        rolling operation carried out on the metallic material; and    -   the material is in the form of a running strip and the various        steps of the process are carried out continuously by means of        installations placed in succession along the path of the running        strip.

A second subject of the invention consists of a generator that can beused for implementing the process according to the invention and whichcomprises a low-voltage power supply delivering low-voltage pulses at afrequency of 1 to 200 kHz, and components for transforming saidlow-voltage pulses into high-voltage pulses. The voltage rise time ofthis generator is preferably less than or equal to 600 ns and moreparticularly preferably less than or equal to 60 ns.

This generator differs from that described in patent U.S. Pat. No.5,968,377 as it makes it possible to obtain unsymmetrical voltagepulses. This is possible since, as opposed to the generator described inU.S. Pat. No. 5,968,377, pulse chopping is not carried out at highvoltage, but at low voltage, and then the signal is amplified by meansof transformers. Within the context of the present invention, the term“low voltage” is understood to mean a voltage of less than 1 kV.

A third subject of the invention consists of a system for implementingthe process according to the invention, which comprises grounded runningmeans for making the strip run, a series of electrodes that are coveredwith a dielectric and are placed facing that surface of said strip to betreated, these electrodes being connected to a generator according tothe invention, gas supply means placed close to the surface of thestrip, and means for extracting the gases resulting from thedecomposition of the organic substance coating the strip.

Within the context of the present application, the term “dielectric” isunderstood to mean a material having a dielectric constant of greaterthan 6. Furthermore, the term “organic substance” is understood to meanany compound containing at least carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. The risetime is defined as being the time during which the voltage continues toincrease until it reaches its maximum.

The invention will be illustrated by the description of one method ofimplementation given by way of indication, but implying no limitation,with reference to the appended drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a treatment system according to theinvention;

FIG. 2A is a diagram showing the principle of the electrical powersupply of the system and

FIG. 2B shows its block diagram;

FIG. 3 shows an oscillogram of the voltage variations obtained with agenerator according to the invention;

FIG. 4 shows the change in percentage reflectivity (%R) of specimenscalibrated in terms of oil coating weight in the wavelength rangecorresponding to CH stretching bands;

FIG. 5 shows the calibration curve established from the mathematicallytreated IRRAS recordings;

FIG. 6 indicates the change in the residual oil coating weight W as afunction of the treatment time on specimens initially coated with 100mg/m² of oil;

FIG. 7 indicates the change in the residual oil coating weight W as afunction of the treatment time on specimens initially coated with 53mg/m² of oil; and

FIG. 8 shows the change in the residual oil coating weight W as afunction of the treatment time on specimens initially coated with 110mg/m² of oil.

FIG. 1 shows a treatment system that comprises a rotary support roll 1for a steel strip 2 coated with a corrosion protection oil, that it isdesired to degrease. This roll 1 rotates in the direction indicated bythe arrow F and may possibly be cooled, if necessary. It is grounded viathe strip 2.

Placed facing the roll 1 are several cooled electrodes 3 coated with adielectric. It would be preferable to choose a ceramic, such as aluminaor stumatites for example, as these are able to withstand hightemperatures. A dielectric will be chosen that has a dielectric constantof greater than 6, which is the case of alumina, whose dielectricconstant is between 8 and 10, but also stumatites, whose constant isbetween 6 and 8.

Each electrode 3 is supplied by a high-voltage generator 4 according tothe invention. The treatment gas or gas mixture may be supplied invarious ways, in particular it may be introduced on either side of theelectrodes 3 by an injector rail 5. An extraction system may also beprovided for extracting the gases and volatile species resulting fromthe decomposition of the oil film, on each side of the system (these notbeing shown). To make it easier to supply the zone with gas, it mayprove advantageous to place the treatment zone inside a chambersurrounding the strip and the electrodes.

The steel strip 2 is grounded and thus acts as a counterelectrode. Itruns over the roll 1 and exposes one of its surfaces to the action ofthe reactive species created by the action of the discharge on thetreatment gas, these being in particular oxygenated species of the O^(.)type.

The electric discharge is supplied by the generator 4 that delivers, fora frequency possibly varying from 1 to 200 kHz, single-polarity voltagepulses, the waveform of which depends on the load onto which this supplyoutputs.

FIG. 2A shows the type of electrical circuit of the pulsed voltagesupply, which uses an MOS power transistor connected to a step-uptransformer.

FIG. 2B shows the block diagram of the supply designed specifically forthis application. It consists of a block of high-speed diodes, the roleof which is to control the voltage and current reversals in the powertransistors and in the transformers so as to reduce ohmic losses. Thetransformers are mounted in a specific manner so as to obtain a lowconductance, no saturation of the magnetic material and a low parasiticcapacitance.

FIG. 3 comprises a curve showing the variations in the voltage during asuccession of two pulses such as those delivered by a generatoraccording to the invention.

It may be seen that the first voltage pulse is positive and lasts about1.8 μs, this being followed by a negative pulse, of lower amplitude,lasting 48.2 μs. The maximum voltage of the positive pulse U⁺ is in thiscase 12.7 kV and the maximum value of the negative pulse in absolutevalue U⁻ is 1.8 kV. The treatment reactor uses a dielectric barrier(Al₂O₃) discharge and the inter-electrode distance is set at 3 mm.

During the positive voltage pulse delivered to the dielectric-coveredelectrode by the electrical generator, a positive current pulse isrecorded, which is followed, 4 μs later, by a negative current pulse oflower amplitude. Next, the current is virtually zero when the voltagemeasured on the dielectric is negative. The positive voltage rise timeis around 400 ns. Such a value of the voltage rise time allows thedischarge to be struck at a minimum voltage of 5 kV.

EXAMPLE 1

Two specimens of a mild steel strip coated with a corrosion protectionoil (Quaker TINNOL N200) were treated by subjecting them to a pulsedelectric field according to the invention so as to degrease them. Theoil coating weight on each of the strips was 100 mg/m² and 53 mg/m²respectively. The treatment was carried out in the presence of a 30l/min stream of oxygen at atmospheric pressure.

The treatment reactor used a dielectric barrier (Al₂O₃) discharge ableto contain two rectangular electrodes having the dimensions of 25×200mm². The inter-electrode distance was 3 mm.

Plasma treatments of various durations were carried out on specimenstaken from each of the two strips. The residual protection oil coatingweight on each treated specimen was then measured by grazing incidenceinfrared absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS).

Prior to these experimental measurements, a calibration curve wasestablished on the basis of specimens calibrated in terms of coatingweight using the same oil (Quaker TINNOL N200) using the same IRRASanalyzer.

FIG. 4 shows the change in the percentage reflectivity (%R) of specimenscalibrated in terms of oil coating weight, within the wavenumber range(expressed in cm⁻¹) corresponding to the CH stretching bands. Thecalibrated specimens contained, starting from the curve closest to thehorizontal line, 10 mg/m², 32 mg/m ², 50 mg/m², 71 mg/m², 100 mg/m² and150 mg/m² of oil. No oil on the specimen resulted in a percentagereflectivity of 100%.

FIG. 5 shows the calibration curve established on the basis of the IRRASrecordings made for each calibrated specimen.

FIG. 6 shows the change in residual oil coating weight on the specimenstaken from the strip with 100 mg/m² of oil after various plasmatreatment times, using a frequency of 100 kHz. It may be noted that atime of 7 to 8 seconds is sufficient to clean the strip.

FIG. 7 shows the change in residual oil coating weight on the specimenstaken from the strip with 53 mg/m² of oil after various plasma treatmenttimes, using a frequency of 100 kHz. It may be noted that a time of 3 to4 seconds is sufficient to clean the strip.

EXAMPLE 2

An oiled and skin-passed mild steel strip was treated so as to clean itusing the same reactor and under the same experimental conditions asthose described in example 1. The oil coating weight on the strip was110 mg/m².

The specimens taken from the skin-passed strip were subjected to plasmatreatment for various durations. Next, using the method described inexample 1, the residual oil coating weight on each treated specimen wasmeasured by grazing incidence infrared absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS).

FIG. 8 shows the change in residual oil coating weight on the specimenstaken from the strip after various plasma treatment times. It may benoted that a time of 20 seconds is sufficient to clean the strip.

EXAMPLE 3

The trial of example 1 was repeated with the steel strip covered with a150 mg/m² layer of Quaker TINNOL N200 oil.

The specimens taken from the strip were treated by applying variouselectric fields to them. The XPS spectra of the surfaces of thesespecimens, and of control specimens, were obtained and the Fe/C and O/Cratios were calculated by integration of the corresponding peaks.

The results obtained and the test conditions are given in the followingtable: Treatment time (s) Oxygen (1/h) Fe/C Oiled — 0 control Solvent- —0.30 degreased control Plasma using 75 650 0.19 a 10 kHz 180 0.23 pulsedDC generator Plasma using 45 650 0.20 a 20 kHz pulsed DC generatorPlasma using 22 650 0.26 a 40 kHz pulsed DC generator Plasma using 10650 0.23 a 100 kHz pulsed DC generator

The higher the Fe/C ratio, the cleaner the surface of the material.

If the three results obtained with the pulsed DC generator are compared,it may be seen that there is a significant improvement in the speed ofthe degreasing treatment when the positive voltage pulses have afrequency of at least 20 kHz.

Moreover, it may be seen that, for a frequency of 40 kHz, the strip iscompletely degreased after 22 seconds, whereas at a frequency of 100 kHzno more than 10 seconds are required to achieve the same result.

1.-13. (canceled)
 14. A process for the continuous cleaning of thesurface of a material (2) coated with an organic substance, whichprocess comprises the steps consisting in introducing said material (2)into a treatment zone supplied with an oxygen-containing gas stream, ingrounding said material (2) and in generating a plasma by imposing anelectric field between the surface of said material (2) and at least oneelectrode (3) covered with a dielectric, said electric field beingpulsed and comprising a succession of positive and negative voltagepulses with respect to said material (2), the maximum voltage of thepositive pulses U⁺ being greater than the arc striking voltage U_(a) andthe maximum voltage of the negative pulses U⁻ being, in absolute value,less than the striking voltage U_(a).
 15. The process as claimed inclaim 14, wherein the voltage rise time of said field is less than orequal to 600 ns.
 16. The process as claimed in claim 14, wherein thefrequency of the positive pulses is greater than or equal to 20 kHz. 17.The process as claimed in claim 14, wherein said gas stream consists ofair or oxygen.
 18. The process as claimed in claim 14, wherein saidmaterial (2) is a metallic material.
 19. The process as claimed in claim18, wherein said material (2) is a carbon steel.
 20. The process asclaimed in claim 18, wherein said organic substance is an oil forproviding temporary corrosion protection or an unstable mechanicalemulsion.
 21. The process as claimed in claim 14, wherein the material(2) is in the form of a running strip, and the various steps of theprocess are carried out continuously by means of installations placed insuccession along the path of the running strip.
 22. A generator (4) forimplementing the process as claimed in claim 14, wherein it comprises alow-voltage power supply delivering low-voltage pulses at a frequency of1 to 200 kHz and it comprises components for transforming saidlow-voltage pulses into high-voltage pulses.
 23. The generator asclaimed in claim 22, wherein the voltage rise time is less than or equalto 600 ns.
 24. A system for implementing the process as claimed in claim21, comprising: grounded running means (1) for making said strip (2)run; a series of electrodes (3) that are covered with a dielectric andare placed facing that surface of said strip (2) to be treated, theseelectrodes (3) being connected to a generator (4) delivering pulses at afrequency of 1 to 200 kHz; gas supply means placed close to the surfaceof the strip (2); and means for extracting the gases resulting from thedecomposition of the organic substance coating the strip (2).
 25. Thesystem as claimed in claim 24, wherein said dielectric consists ofalumina.
 26. The system as claimed in claim 24, wherein said dielectricconsists of a stumatite.